Justice Beyond the Species Barrier

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Tactics

EDUCATION

We believe that educating the public about anti-speciesism is one of the most important forms of activism we should engage in. At Species Revolution, we do this through:

Tabling: At our tables, we emphasize anti-speciesism. We focus on having conversations with people and not just giving out information.

Presentations: We give presentations to nonvegans, vegans, and activists. Depending on the nature of our audience and their requirements, our presentations cover a wide range of topics from veganism to social justice theory.

Activist Training: We provide training to individuals and organizations on building an inclusive movement, providing effective allyship to nonhumans, and reevaluating our actions and language.

Billboards: Our billboards will emphasize the nonhuman perspective, attempting to redefine the way humans percieve other animals.

Deep canvassing: We have one-on-one conversations with individuals to help them understand and agree with our concerns. Unlike leafleting and canvassing, deep canvassing involves going beyond a limited set of information to have two-way conversations with our audience and to help them understand the issue. We follow the fundamental principles of deep canvassing, which are listed below.

Evaluate the individual’s opinion on the issue and explore it.

Use a video, story, or other outside source to explore their feelings more deeply.

Ask about the audience’s personal experience with the issue or a similar one.

Connect personal experience back to the original issue.

Engage their initial concerns.

Re-evaluate attitude towards the issue.

STORYTELLING

Our work centers around amplifying the voices of nonhuman victims and survivors of exploitation. We focus on telling the stories of individuals and inspiring humans to take action. Nonhuman struggles for liberation are inherently powerful stories; we will give them an audience.

DEMONSTRATIONS

We create powerful messages through public demonstrations and protests.

SANCTUARY

One of the most important yet neglected needs of the nonhuman rights movement is the rescue and care of exploited animals. We empower and inspire people to provide sanctuary and care to abandoned and rescued animals. We highlight the stories of rescued individuals, making sure that they are not forgotten. We provide resources for the care of nonhuman refugees.

CHALLENGING NORMS

A social norm is an accepted behavior that one is expected to conform to in society. Norms are unwritten rules that dictate how humans behave. We follow such norms because we believe others do the same and because we are expected to. In a world where speciesism runs rampant among human societies, social norms invariably tend to be speciesist and to erase the nonhuman perspective. For example, most humans eat other animals unthinkingly because everyone else around them is doing so.

As activists, we challenge such speciesist norms and encourage others to do so as well. We will try to speak out whenever and wherever we witness exploitation, whether it is in the “meat” section of the supermarket, in a vivisection laboratory, or in our own homes. We will disrupt the normalcy of exploitation by bringing nonhuman voices to places where they are unwanted and silenced.

EMPOWERMENT

We empower activists and groups to become better allies. We will provide resources for individuals to build communities and take action.

COMMUNITY BUILDING

The success of the nonhuman rights movement depends on growth. Only through strong communities can we achieve the momentum required to challenge. We will do our best to build a strong anti-speciesist movement through community building.

NONVIOLENCE

For us, nonviolence is not a value but is a tactic. We use nonviolence as a tool of negotiation, whether its to educate others or to achieve specific goals.